Filed under: Stationery and office supplies, Toys and games, art, decoration | Tags: collector's item, designer toys, elegant, key chain, modern, pens, Playsam, Playtown, Saab 001, Scandinavian design, Sixten Saxon, Swedish design
Yes, Playsam is a Swedish toy company, but actually, their products are rather toys by accident, as the superb design is surely their main focus. This is also visible by classifying the majority of their toys as executive toys, by which they mean that these are not just for the little ones, but are to be used as design objects independent of age. Take a look at their Airliner plane and oldtimer racer. But with these beautiful JoJos, pens and key chains below Playsam also has perfectly designed items for adults.
And deesign buffs will surely fall for Playsam’s incredible Playtown and Saab 001 concept car: Not that all of Playsam’s items aren’t masterpieces of design already, but especially these last two products are modern art in perfection and would make the perfect sculpture to display in your living room! The polished wooden pieces of the Playtown represent the four most characteristic sights of Sweden’s capital Copenhagen, i.e. The City Hall, Kaknaes Tower, The Globe and The Royal Castle. The superb quality of this set shows in the details: The City Hall’s crown is made of silver and palted with 23 carat gold! On the other hand the Saab 001 model is inspired by Sixten Saxon’s prototype of the Saab Concept Car 92001, which did not look like a normal car, but was futuristic and aerodynamic design in perfection. The modern design of this wooden toy, or rather piece of art, brings the charm of the origninal Saab home with its wonderful sophisticated design. Check them out yourself:
While researching Playsam’s products, I found even more interesting things: In 2006 Fitzsu Society, a Los Angeles based store for modern design home accessories, had gathered a group of designers from around the world to create their own interpretation of Playsam’s cars. While the most beautiful products are of course sold by now, I could still find a few beautiful ones available:
Among others, the whole collection of Playsam products can be bought at Scandinavian Design Center or Juuka . The Fitzsu designer GP cars can be bought at Fitzsu .
Filed under: Toys and games, art, decoration | Tags: collector's item, Jesco von Puttkamer, nostalgic, tin toys
These beautiful collector’s items are designed and crafted by designer Jesco von Puttkamer. The wind-up tin-toys are hand-made in Germany, which makes them one-of-a-kind, as well as high quality products. Jesco’s unusual designs comprise a telephone with moving receiver, a boat, a police car (which I find has more resemblance with a tractor, but never mind), a swiss car and a Red Cross ambulance that can both climb uphill due to their assymetric cross-shaped rear wheel, as well as a set of race cars, which are a bit smaller than the others, but at least they come two per package, turning the lever increases their speed drastically. All tin vehicles are simply beautiful to look at, and were designed with happy memories of childhood and the joy of simple toys in mind. Once wound up with the included key, they run for about two minutes.
However, part of their nostalgic charme stems from the fact that these gems do have exposed gears like in the old days, and also the sharp edges make them unsuitable for children, so these are beautiful pieces for adults who will just appreciate them for their decorative and sentimental value. Arriving with a numbered and signed instruction leaflet, they are a great collector’s item after all.
Available at Unica Home , $55.00-$75.00.
If you’re interested in a little more information about the artist, read on, otherwise, just skip to my next entry 
After a bit of research I managed to discovered Jesco von Puttkamer’s website and thought I should also share some pictures of his studio and some other works.
I had never heard of him before, but apparently he must have some reputation, since he has already completed contract work for many big companies, such as Volkswagen and Fuji, and actually began his artistic career recycling leftovers from industrial production, out of which he created large metal sculptures which could be turned, twisted, pulled or otherwise set in motion, making an awful lot of noise. His current focus is on small collectors toys that double as objets d’art and are produced by himself, using the brand name ‘Jetzt Produkte’.
You can also order his creations directly from him, with the order form on his website, and he also completes custom orders. But there’s one big catch though: His website is only in German! No wonder why it was so difficult to find it in the first place, and of course apart from the fact that he belongs to a widely extended German noble family whose tradition it is to name their first-born Jesco. Thus you can imagine there are quite a few of them historically, among them is a rocket enginer and senior NASA manager, as well as a governor of German Cameroon, back in the days before World War I, when Germany had joined the European rush to divide Africa among themselves (see Wikipedia). By the way,’von’ means from in German and is a prefix denoting nobility. More precisely, it refers to the city or village under patronage. So Jesco von Puttkamer’s ancestry must be going back to some (probably tiny) place called Puttkamer.
Filed under: Toys and games, art, decoration | Tags: Alexander Girard, colorful, decoration, dolls, wooden items
These wooden dolls made of pinewood were originally created by Girard as decorations for his Santa Fe home. Fortunately though, design museum Vitra is reissuing models 1-11. These dolls with sometimes happy, sometimes melancholy faces are hand-painted and rather indended as home decoration than as actual toys, and with their modern design, they would surely look fabulous as room decoration, not just for the nursery! They also make perfect gifts, since they arrive in a printed, wooden box.
Available at Unica Home for $150.00 each.
Filed under: Furniture, decoration, lighting | Tags: elegant, lamps, mobiles, nature design, Roost, seating, vases
Roost has a whole range of organic shaped, nature inspred lamps, vases, stools and what not, with classy chic. This is an interesting twist on designs that are nature inspired, as these items seem delicated and are anything but rough and country style. Quite on the contrary, Roost’s whole collection has a very unique and elegant look to it. Take a look at these lamps and you will immediately know what I’m talking about:
Made of matte porcelain, the owl lamp emits a warm, soft light. The birdcage lamp made of the center stalks of palm fronds has a white light diffusor inside with a bird stenciled on it and a cage door.
Each bird from the flock of swallows mobile is handcarved from basswood and hung on a debarked, natural branch. The barnyard animals actually are an item for children, for those older than five years at least. They are made from wood, filt and natural fibres and come in a set of goat, sheep, pig and donkey.
Available at Velocity Art and Design, porcelain owl lamp $121.00, birdcage lamps $230.00-270.00, flock of swallows mobile $140.00, brushy barnyard animals $36.00.
If you are looking for some flower-power vibe, these hippie-style stickers by Anna Wand are just perfect with all their vibrant colors, flower themes and peace symbols.
Available at Design 3000, and hopefully soon, the Anna Wand website will also be available in English (at least they say so), as you can also order directly from there.
Filed under: decoration | Tags: animal design, Anna Wand, Asian style, German design, wall decals
Wow, these are one of the most beautiful wall decorations I have found so far, and I am even so much in love with German company Anna Wand’s products that I think I will feature some more on a different topic! Now for the linguistic brainiacs among you, though the company name sounds like the name of its founder, Anna Wand is actually a funny wordplay, because it reflects the phonetics of sloppily saying “on the wall”, which is “an der Wand” in German. Anyway, lets move on to their products, here are some pictures:
I really like how the fish and dragonflies bring the pink water lily scene to life, and this design would work amazingly well with the Petit Pan kites reviewed below. The next stickers would match as well, or even better. They give create a nice Asian flair and have a really unique design for wall decals. Besides, wouldn’t the pink lampion look gorgeous in combination with the water liliy decals? It is just the right amount of pink, without looking kitschy. These decals are equally suitable for all age groups, from baby to adult, which is a good thing if you don’t feel like redecorating every year or two. In fact the design is so great, it would work anywhere in the house.
Available at Design3000, dragonfly lampion 49.00€, butterlflies size m 59.00€, available in a multitude of colors.
Filed under: Toys and games, decoration | Tags: City in a Bag, Muji, souvenirs, wooden items
Muji’s City In A Bag wooden blocks are esthetic toys available with iconic sites of New York, London, Paris and Tokyo. They are beautiful to look at and would just as well make the perfect piece of decoration on a desk, since I believe they make really original paperweights. In fact, they are not necessarily aimed at children, but at jetsetting adults with collector aspirations, in search for that perfect and unique souvenir. Besides, along all the ugly clutter available as souvenirs, it is nice to see some items that also appeal to one’s sense of beauty.
Each set retails for £5.95, available at Muji.
Filed under: decoration | Tags: animal design, colorful, French design, kites, lampion, mobiles, Petit Pan
Petit Pan is a French company that is famous for its kites, but also produces a range of other items, such as mobiles, clothes and quilts. Now what makes their kites so special is that they are not so much for the competitive kind who wants functional stunt kites, but rather that they have incredibly beautiful design. I don’t know any other company that makes flying butterflies, dragonflies or fish so realistic or decorative. That being said, these beauties are not only great for a sunny day in fall, when the wind is right to fly a kite, they also look amazing on wall or ceiling. Personally, I find them way too precious to really use them outdoors. However, if you do want to use them outside and not just hang them up as decoration, go ahead, they are fully functional after all. Take a look at these beauties made of silk and bamboo, each available in many different colors:
And look, they even have amazing fish and seahorse lampions (and of course they are MUCH bigger than they seem here, not to say these fish are huge):
Available in the Petit Pan online shop, e.g. insect mobile 65.00 €, fish lampion 75.00 €, dragonfly kite 25.00 €.
Filed under: decoration | Tags: animal design, bird mobile, elegant, Ige design, mobiles, silhouette
I think I’ve said before that silhouette works are fascinating, and so are mobiles. So what could be better than combining the two? Ige Design has some really great mobiles that are so pretty, not only will they fit any age group, they will fit any room as well! Now that’s really a great purchase you won’t regret.
Helene Ige’s timeless designs are influenced by having lived in New York and Los Angeles, as well as by her Japanese roots, and is detailed, but still elegant and not florid. Helene’s work comprises silhouettes of birdcages and chandeliers, sure to give a room just the right amount of playfulnes, without being too flamboyant or ornate. Another detail I like is that you can also get a stand for your birdcage or birdhouse mobile, so your feathered stencil-friend can be perched right next to you, instead of hovering above. The bird mobiles are not only available in black, but also in ivory, which will make a nice contrast in front of a dark wall. Especially noticable is the Bird of a Feather mobile (top right picture), as it is cut from wood and comes in its own cut-out block, which can subsequently be used as bird stencil.
Available in her online shop, $55.00 for the chandelier mobile, $65.00 for all other mobiles, $75.00 for a bird stand.
Filed under: art, decoration | Tags: art, British design, Mikro cube, Mikro man, Mikromart, Sam Buxton, sculpture
I think these steel fold-up sculptures by Mikromart are truly amazing. The concept of a 3D pop-up is so simple and still, there is something fascinating about the look of stencilwork, that makes these Mikro cubes by London designer Sam Buxton so interesting.
The Mikromart design is such a great combination, I think they fit anywhere in the house and make a cool, modern but still somewhat playful atmosphere, whether you put them inside your study or on your dresser. Furthermore, wouldn’t they be a true gem in a boy’s room with their timeless design? Maybe not the garden theme above, but most themes are rather masculine, like the ‘car’ and ‘mars’ themes, or check out the weight-lifter below.
Available on the Mikromart website, prices vary between 7, 25 and 65£, so you can even get a Mikro sculpture if you don’t feel like spending a fortune!
